Woodland Cougars OK 2023 Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's the month of July and that means it's preview time! Throughout the month of July and into August, we are publishing well over 100 in-depth team previews to get you completely ready for the 2023 football season. This is something that began in 2021 and has continued to get bigger every single year. We're looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champions, to top contenders and plenty of dark horses, we'll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A, all the way down to the addition of 8-man coverage this year with Class B and C. In this post, we take a look at the Woodland Cougars.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Woodland Cougars</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #5<br>Preseason Coaches Ranking: UR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodland came into the 2022 football season with high expectations but they also found themselves in one of the tougher districts in Class A. Back to back district losses late in the season would give the Cougars an unfavorable road in the playoffs and that playoff appearance ended in a second round loss to Gore. Woodland began the season with a 1-2 mark with the two losses coming by a combined three points. They turned things around immediately with five consecutive wins in district play, including a streak within the streak. They shut out three straight opponents in late September and into October. That set up the final two weeks of the regular season where they fell to Hominy and Tonkawa, who had a combined regular season record of 19-1 in 2022. That dropped the Cougars to the three seed and they would go on the road and beat Hartshorne in the first round before the 55-20 loss to Gore. As we put the 2022 season in our rear view and look ahead to the 2023 season, we anticipate the Cougars to once again be a contender.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars are now going into another season with high expectations as they return the majority of their starters and most of these returning players have been starting for several seasons. The offense is headlined by eight starters returning on that side of the ball. Now, they will have a new quarterback but it will be a familiar name in one of the team's best athletes moving over to the quarterback position. Seven starters return on the defensive side of the ball, including one of the top linebackers in the state and specifically in Class A. Now, the Cougars have plenty of experience and they will once again expect to contend in Class A. They're coming into a season in the preseason rankings once again. But the district is still going to be tough with Hominy and Tonkawa both looking strong and other district foes will provide a challenge. They must first contend for the district crown before they start thinking about a trip to Edmond.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (7-5 Record - Lost In Class A 2nd Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Beat Commerce 44-15<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Newkirk 31-30<br>Sept. 16 - Lost To Pawhuska 48-46<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Chelsea 29-14<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Chouteau 22-0<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Pawnee 24-0<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Oklahoma Union 46-0<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Morrison 28-8<br>Oct. 28 - Lost To Hominy 33-20<br>Nov. 4 - Lost To Tonkawa 20-8<br>1st Round - Beat Hartshorne 42-6<br>2nd Round - Lost To Gore 55-20</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Losses To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aidan Rhodes - Quarterback/Defensive Back<br>Nathan Bouchard - Running Back/Linebacker<br>Zane Brock - Offensive/Defensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["897845"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Woodland 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='897845' first='Danner' last='Lessert'] enjoyed a breakout season last fall. As just a sophomore, Lessert earned his way onto the field and made a major impact, specifically on the defensive side. Lessert is listed on the roster as an offensive and defensive lineman as well as a linebacker. We're interested in what Lessert can provide on the defensive side of the ball. The Cougars bring back seven starters on defense and Lessert is looking to take his game to another level as a junior. Last fall, he finished with over 70 tackles on the season and also finished with nearly ten sacks. We think that Woodland is going to have a stingy defense when you look at what Lessert can do, combined with some of the other returning starters on that side.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["189939"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"2024 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='189939' first='Jackson' last='Rhodes'] is another one of those returning starters on defense and he's going to end up being one of the top linebackers in Class A this fall. That's where he was last season and he's quickly climbing the boards when you look at the 2024 linebackers in the state. He's been incredibly productive over the last few seasons. He finished 2022 with 150 tackles and 24 tackles for loss with ten sacks. The tackle number brought his career number up to nearly 400 tackles for his career and now he has over 50 tackles for loss. Rhodes has also seen playing time on the offensive side of the ball but we like him for what he can do at the linebacker position. Rhodes is going to be the leader of a defense that could end up being pretty special this fall.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["806158"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Woodland's 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='806158' first='Trey' last='Bennett'] is making the transition from being their leading receiver as a sophomore to their starting quarterback as a junior. He will replace Aidan Rhodes at the quarterback position and will give the Cougars a quarterback that can sling it all over the field. What will be interesting about this move is finding out who he's going to throw to moving forward. Bennett was the leading receiver last season so he'll need to find some new targets emerging this fall. Bennett finished with over 550 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving. We got a chance to see Bennett up close as a participant in our camp back in April. He was one of the top quarterbacks in attendance and we're looking forward to seeing what he's able to do this fall for the Woodland offense.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64a87ddd6b128"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abel Reyes - 2024 Athlete<br>Chase Bowman - 2024 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1403591' first='DK' last='Kennedy'] - 2025 Offensive/Defensive Lineman<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1322393' first='Dray' last='Long'] - 2025 Running Back/Linebacker<br>James Graham - 2024 Kicker<br>Payton Rikkola - 2025 Offensive/Defensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 Schedule/Games To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 1 - Commerce<br>Sept. 8 - AT Newkirk<br><strong>Sept. 15 - AT Pawhuska</strong><br>- Woodland will look to avoid another season where they have a slow start to the season in the win-loss department. As mentioned earlier, the Cougars started last season with a 1-2 record but the two losses were by a combined three points. They go on the road in week two to face Newkirk and then are again away from home in week three to face Pawhuska. Woodland would love to kick off the season with a 3-0 start and take plenty of momentum into district play, which should be one of the tougher districts in the state once again. <br>Sept. 22 - Chelsea<br>Sept. 29 - AT Chouteau<br>Oct. 6 - Pawnee<br>Oct. 12 - AT Oklahoma Union<br>Oct. 20 - Morrison<br><strong>Oct. 27 - AT Hominy</strong><br>- There's a good chance that the district championship race is going to come down to the final two weeks of the regular season once again. In week nine, the Cougars will hit the road to face off with Hominy, a team that features the Class A Player Of The Year last season. So needless to say, this is going to be a massive test for the Cougars. Both Hominy and Woodland are ranked heading into the season and there's a good chance that this match-up is a top five clash and could be a playoff preview. A win puts Woodland in the driver's seat for the district crown. <br><strong>Nov. 3 - Tonkawa</strong><br>- While a win over Hominy would more than likely put Woodland in the driver's seat for the district championship, they would still have work to do in week ten when they host Tonkawa. This two week stretch last season hurt the Cougars going into the playoffs and made their road in November much tougher. Back to back wins over these two teams should allow the Cougars to capture the district championship. But they want to avoid going 0-2 during this stretch to close the regular season. It will set them up with a more favorable seed and easier road in the playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodland has turned out to be a good luck charm to opponents in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they've had their last three seasons ended by teams that would go on to play for the state championship. In 2020 and 2021, the Cougars would fall to Cashion, who went on to win back to back state championships. Last season, they ran into Gore in the second round and fell by 35 points. The Pirates would go on to make the trip to Edmond but fell to Fairview in the championship game. Now, Woodland is determined to not get tripped up and make it all the way to the state championship game themselves. They are tired of being the stepping stone for another team to make it to Edmond. They want to make that trek themselves. They have a tough road to get there but they are one of the top contenders to do so in Class A.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>1 State Championship</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2010 - Beat Stratford 6-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->